New York City school kids may soon have some extra days off. A resolution supporting the inclusion of two Muslim holy days as school holidays passed nearly unanimously through City Council last month, but the mayor is less than enthused. That the State Senate bill supported by the resolution is ambiguously written isn’t helping matters.
Eid ul-Fitr, which celebrates the close of the Ramadan month of fasting, and Eid ul-Adha, which commemorates Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son Isaac, are several days each, but only the first day of the two holidays call Muslims to an obligatory mosque service. The holidays are based on a lunar calendar, so they occur at different points in the year, sometimes overlapping with the summer or other school vacations.
“One of the problems you have with a diverse city,” the mayor said last week, “is that if you close the schools for every single holiday, there won’t be any school.”
Advocacy group The Coalition for Muslim School Holidays claims that 12 percent of the City school system is Muslim. That figure was cited in the resolution, though the Senate Bill cited a 2008 study by Columbia University’s Teachers College, which has the Muslim contingent of the school system at 10 percent. Demographics Professor Andrew Beveridge of Queens College believes both figures are inflated.
A spokesman for Councilman Robert Jackson (D- West Harlem) who sponsored the Council resolution said that even if the figure was as low as 7 percent, the resolution was still of vital importance to those Muslim students who must choose between celebrating their holiest of holidays, and missing school and being disadvantaged academically.
Schools are currently closed for Christmas and Good Friday, as well the Jewish holidays Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Passover.
The 2006 Regents exams schedule conflicted with Eid ul-Adha, which kick-started the advocacy effort, and compelled state legislators to pass a Bill obliging the DOE to make an effort not to schedule mandatory exams on religious holidays. It is unclear whether Bloomberg retains power over the school calendar, since his executive control of the school system suddenly expired last week when the state Legislature failed to vote on the renewal of mayoral control.
“It’s two holidays, which is not that much when you think about the whole calendar year,” said Dalia Mahmoud, New York Board Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “Growing up myself,” she continued, “it’s been really tough making the choice between going to school and being able to celebrate a very momentous holiday, and feeling like it’s the equivalent of Christmas or Hanukkah.” Mahmoud had to assess if she would be missing a test or important review lesson as a student before sometimes deciding to take off.
Though the intention of the Senate Bill seems clear; “The first day of the Muslim Holidays of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha shall be designated as school holidays,” the Mayor’s office interprets the bill as mandating school closures for the duration of both holidays. The source of confusion may be the bill’s next clause: "[t]he dates of such holidays shall correspond to the dates of such holidays as set on the parking calendar of the city of New York.” The parking calendar includes both holidays’ three-day durations, leaving room for confusion over the total days of the school holiday.
A spokesman for Bloomberg explained his hesitation over the religious allowance. “This school year, the two proposed Muslim holidays include Eid-ul-Fitr (a holiday that entails 3 days of observance and all 3 days fall on school days) and Edi-ul-Adha (a holiday that entails 4 days of observance and 2 of these days fall on school days). School would be closed for a total of five days. Because many of our schools will fall below the required 180 days for schools to be in session, [State Education Department] approval is necessary. Another issue to keep in mind is that schools cannot extend the school year past the last two days of June because of the UFT contract. DOE determines our schedule within state regulations. Adding holidays could make it difficult to reach required 180 days.”